Name plate



c. E. WHITCOMB NAME PLATE Filed Oct. 14. 1925 0 f I 1 4 J 1 1 a z 0 w WE ME @w@ W D K E. m m memo ouo c5 D. 2 ma mo. momo m m w n m. Wm" um a n m s a, o a 0 7 main feature of this device being theuseof. af'platemade of transparent mater al such Patented July "cHAnLnsn wHIro'o-Mn-ounnvi YORK-,Ng Y.

jimivm 1 mm Application filedQetober 14, 92; SeriaLlfToFGZAQG 1 This invent n; ela es b mm p te a more particularly to devices for] displaying names or useful indicationsrelating to mail hoxes,'. electric bells and solfert ,informationofthe user. g I :1

. this inven lQIl is to ,The primary obj ector provide a neat and; efficient device forl displaying names or other informat on adapted for, uSBjlIYVELIlGUS forms'jin connection with apartment ghouse directories, push .hutton plates .maiL boxesmultiple push button plates for desks, andyother purposes the as; glass,- said plate heingrendered opaque all over 1 except at; such. places Where r the 7 names or other indications shouldIhe exposed ent invention illmore fully appear asthe description proceeds'and Will he set forth Anotherohjectof thisinvent on 1s to provide a push{ button platezof; a novel and improved constrr ctionfgthe chief characteristics of; which are a neat "and, attractive appearance lperfect protection-from dust of the cards be'aringi nznne's and other: indications," and ther poss bihty of. keep ng the dev1'ce clean at a l;l{times;w;itl1 but "little effort, I I V1VO h-er bi en anta ee f e p will in rno ti-me'.hecornemarred or else the spaces are closed by means of a transparent panel: such :as'; glass, and th s calls for com-- plicated and expensive;arrangements to maintain-the transparent panels in place, and alsoproduceS;finished devices, the outer surface of, which is usually irregular and uneven. 1 -t r c This again gives a chance' for dust to :QQl-

' lect along edges endrecesses; and Ina-lies, it

' necessary'todeyote quite some time toafre:

quent cleanings of theplate; 1 This operation is further complicated loy'fthe neeessity'of using "different cleaning materials for the 3 metal part of the plate entree-s es w other transparent materialgused Provisions rnust 'tion I are Which- 1 a yFlg. .1 .1s a" front View 1n elevation of a also be made; of course for the easy replacement or removal ofthe cards bearing names or other indications, sothat the finished article as a rule becomes composed of quite a'numberof'difierent parts, to the detriment of'its appearance and of its cost of production. 1

In my improyeddeivice, thefl' fr'ontpart is a solid plate of transparentmaterial,- preferably-glass, presenting a smoothfa'nd prac tically unbroken surface WlllOh is easy to clean and to keep clean andjwhichrn'oreover partalres of the attractiveness peculiar .to

this fit-ind of material V glass surface is superior in {appearance to an ordinary metal 3 surface endrls to' be preferred inmost cases;

it is smooth and, shining but not offensively, so, and fnrther-more,l-c1t s impervious to the elements; whichon-the'other hand generally altered; to a more or less degree]- eause a metal, plate toytarnish, or'to' become 7 glass platethus mounted 1thoutja 5 frame is therefore Jooth sanitary and attiactiveand is furthermore peculiarly adapted for} use ina name platehecause it is not at tacked by ,any one of the materials in, ordinary usefor cleaning surfaces-it is fireproof andv it" has excellent insulating propertiesr The latter featureis especially important when the name plate is used in conjunction With anelectric bellor lighting circuit he- 7 cause 5110 danger may: ensue sparks or short circuits. 1

from v electric A glass or t ansparent front 19* mounted on a-v baclring made of metalor other 1su1table material hav ng suitable meansfor the ready lnsertlen or removal of cards bearing naniesor other indications 1 may he needed;"Both the frontv plate. and

the backing may/have"openings at. suitable places for-the passage of push buttons when electric bells areus'edin connection ith the nameplates. V V

A few typical" embodiments of l inv push button 3 plate adapted for use as an apartmenthouse directory or for other. pur- P 5 5;

-Fig 2 isa rear View: in perspective of; the same With the front trate its construction; F1g, 311st; snnllar YleW in perspective; of

(illustrated in [the drawings in part rtlyo t l s a similar device mounted on a plate of slate or marble or other suitable material already prepared for the mounting of the bell connections, vcorresponding to the various push buttons; 7 v

Fig. 4 is a detail side sectional view in elevation in an enlarged scale, showing the construction of the device of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front View in elevation of a single name push button plate adapted for individual apartment or house use;

Fig. 6 is a front view in elevation of a push button plate for elevator purposes;

Fig. 7 is a front view in elevation of a push button plate in combination with a house telephone i 8 is a front view in elevation of a push button plate adapted for mounting on a disk; and 7 Fig. 9 is a front viewin' elevation of a locked multiple mail box also embodying my invention.

- 'Referring to the devices illustrated in Fig.

,1. and Fig. 2, it will be observed that the same is composed of a'supporting frame 10,

' to which a -metal plate ll isattached by caused to show through owing to the fact.

that the glass plate is rendered opaque all over except at points corresponding to the cards bearing the indications where it is transparent.

It is, of course, possible to directly manu= facture such a plate by having it tinted where it should be opaque and clear where'it should be transparent, but the cost of production of such an article would be prohibitive; therefore, I prefer to'use a plate which is usually entirely transparent and to render it opaque all over except at such points where its transparency is needed.

This result may be obtained in various ways; for instance, the rear surface of the plate may be painted black. or some other color'all over except at such points Where the indications must show through; or else the plate may be mirrored leaving the transparent spaces blank, thus providing a differ ent effect; or'else a thin sheet of paper or other material having openings correspond ing .to the indications to be furnished by the plate, may be attached to the back of the plate or may be interposedbetween the plate a and its support. 7

' These various arrangements may be un- .derstood by referring to Fig. at where 14 is the glass plate, 11 is the metal plate on which the same ismounted, and 18 represents a thin layer of opaque material interposed between must be maintained. vAs stated, 18 may be understood to represent a layer of coloring matter spread upon the rear surface of glass 14, or a mirroring composition, or else a sheet of paper, or other material. This layer of opaque mattermay-also be omittedxifdesired, and in thiscase the cards bearing-indi cations will appear againstthe backing of the metal plate 11. j The visibility is still quite as high as before but the-appearance which may be obtained by interposing an opaque layer such as 18 between the glass plate and the metal plate is byfar superior, because afgreat variety of neat effects may be obtained by using different colors or other finishes, providing thus a new article of decoration. I I 7 It is also possible, ofcourse, to'p'aint vari-' ous designs invarious colors on a sheet 18, if still different effects should beidesired; in fact, the decorative possibilities of such an arrangement are well nigh unlimiteds A glass plate constituting-the covering of the device is, of course, permanently smooth and easy to keep. ina clean and sanitary condition. Suitable-provisions forthe insertion .and removal of cards bearing the'necessary indications are provided in connection with plate 11, and a simple arrangement to this end is illustrated in Figs. 2, 4; In the same way it is'seen that said plate'is provided with openings 19, atsuch points where cards such as 20 are to be inserted; The upper and lower edges21, 22-, ofsaid openings are offset towards the rear and inwardly so that when plates 11, 14 are connectedtogether, cards 20 can be inserted sidewise between said edges'21, 22,- and the rear surface of the glass plate or of opaque layer 18. This provides an arrangement which is bothsimple and effective and which may be produced'at relatively small cost. Plate 11 being hinged to frame 10 which is-mounted upon the wall, it is easy to open said plate 11 atany time as shown in Fig. 2, for thepurpo'se ofchanging or inserting'cards.-- I a The deviceillustrated, also includes push buttons, one for each apartment, as at 23. In the construction shown, each pushbutton comprises a body 23 and an enlarged disc portion 23'" at the rear and thebody'part is inserted from the rear through suitable openings 24 provided through plates 11, 1 1. The length of body part 23 is such that the bottom will only project very slightly through the front of the. plate, or else will just about reach the front of -theplate 1 1 as shown. In this mannerit will be possible to Y clean the plate without encounteringany bells to ring.

, ton plate f one.

is a branch groove suchas extending out-' wardly from groove 26 and a branch groove such as 31 extending inwardly from groove 27 or 28, said grooves leading respectively to terminals 32, 33, to which are connected spring contacts 84, 35, behind-each button,

. in the manner clearly illustrated in Fig. 4.

understood.

7 show through,

This Construction of spring contacts for an electricbell push button merely dupli-j cates the one now generally in use; butthe' novel point of the arrangement consists in rovidin a name late anda ush' button plate complete ready for mounting and for connection. This isof itself anew;art1cle of manufacture independently of thel mana ner of construction of the name plate 1tself:

The nature of my invention is thus fairly The remaining figures illustrate various possible applications of my invention in order to furnish an idea of its many possibilities. In Fig. 5,- for instance,

36 designates a push button plate comprising name plate 37 and push button '88,

adapted forindividual use; Fig. 6 represents a push button plate 39 for an elevatorsignal, bearing indicationsof upand down 4:0, 41

.and corresponding push buttons 42, 43.

Fig. 7 represents a name and push button plate 44;, bearing a plurality ofname plates 45 and corresponding push buttons 4b, com- ,bined with a house telephone transm tter 47. Fig. 8 represents apush. button plate adapted for use on an executives desk, where 48 is the plate proper, 49 are name cards, 50 are push buttons corresponding to said name:

cards and 51' is a' card bearing various 1nd1- cations relating to signals. I Fig. 9 repre-j sents a locked twin mail box, where 52 is the box proper, normally closed by bar lock 53 and 54, 55 are two doors givingaccess to the inside of the. box, said doors having a front glass plate through which name cards 56,57

above. a

My invention, is of course, susceptible of many other applications which are not illustrated, all its embodiments including a part ly transparent and partly opaque panel extendingflover the entire front of the device obstruction without 'causing any of the in. the manner described possessing therefore thedecorative and sanitary possibilitiesoutlined; :J 1

However-,it is obvious that when a front panel whichfis' or has been renderedpartly opaque 01+ partly .transpar-ent is used, names and other indications may .be painted or attached directly upon fthe' rea r surface of the panel in correspondence with the transparent portions thereof; In this case the transparentpahel may be" mounted Cli-'. rectly upon the wall or.:upori*asupporting .frame such as 10 and the use of a backing member v11 may be omitted.

The various details oficonstruction may be different from those SllOWllylt beingunderstood that the drawings are intended for illustrative purposes only and not ina limitng sense I therefore reserve myself the rlght to carrymy lnvention into practice in any way or manner which. may enter fairly into the scope of the appended claims.

' I, claim 1. A; nameplate having a glass'outer sur- I face comprising a backing'member having means for holdingname cards anda glass front panel therefor attached directlythereto, the rear surface ofsaid panel being spread with an opaque layer of paint, leavj ing blank spacesat points where said name cards'may show through. v 2 A name plate having ajglass outer surface comprising asupporting memberfa backing member hinged'to said supporting member having' means for holding'iname cards and aglass front panel attached directly to said backing inembensaid panel having been rendered Opaqueall over ex.- cept at points where said name'cards show through. d V i 3. A name plate having a glass outersurface comprising a backing 'memberhaving means for holdingnamecards, a glass front panel therefor attached directly thereto, said panel having been rendered opaque-all over except at points here said namecards may show through, and push buttons pro jecting throughsaid panel in correspondence of said transparent spaces. 1

LA name plate having a glass outer surface comprising a backing member having.

means for holding name cardsi'a glass front panel therefor attached directly thereto, saidpanelhaving been rendered opaque all may show throughyand push buttonsprO- jecting through said panel in correspon'd over-exceptcatpoints' where sa-id name cards ence ofsaid transparent spaces, said push" buttons being substantially 'non projecting from the. surface ofcsaid panel. V c

5. A name plate having a glass outer surface comprising a" board,";electric bell cone tact devicesmounted on saidboard, a back-"I ing member hinged onto said board and having means for holding name cards,[;'aglass front panel attached directly onto said backing member, said panel having been rendered opaque all over except at points Where said name cards may show through, and push but-tons projecting through said backing member and panel adapted to control said contact devices.

'6. 'A name plate having a glass outer surface comprising a board, electric bell. contact devices mounted on said board, a backing member hinged ontosaid board and having means for holding name cards, a glass front panel attached directlyvonto' said backing member, the rear surface of said panel having been rendered opaque by alayer of paint, except at points Where said name cards may show throughyand push buttons projecting through said backing member and panel adapted tocontrol said contact devices, said push buttons being substantially non projecting from the surface of said panel.

CHAS. E. WHITOOMB. 

